Comment: I heard from a few friends that leaving a DVD disc paused for too
long in a DVD player will burn a hole through the DVD. This sounds silly
to me, since I have left DVDs in overnight with no problems, however this
rumor still persists and even causes arguments. One friend told me that
leaving it in for only a few minutes at a time paused on a scene will
damage the disc. Through Google searches I was unable to verify this, but
found more examples of the rumor.

The basic idea is that the laser used to read and burn CDs and DVDs can be
too powerful and burn a hole. This idea sounds legitimate through the
idea that sometimes you do find little holes or defects in discs. Is this
true? Or simply a story people found to explain DVD defects?

I don't think this is possible with a commercially produced disk, as they are pressed (ie all the information on them is produced by a printing process and is not alterable). Home produced DVDs can theoretically be altered/damaged as the data is encoded on light sensitive material, however the power of the laser used to encode/burn the data is much higher than that used to read the disk. Also although the disk keeps spinning when paused (making it faster to restart), the picture displayed is not being continually refreshed from the disk, but instead is stored in RAM.

The damage-when-paused story was also spread about video and audio tapes, both again without foundation (although most VCRs will automatically switch off after a few minutes pausing, this is to protect the drive mechanism rather than the tape)

My kids will often just turn off the TV when the disc is finished - leaving it playing back the menu for a random period of time until an adult sees it. We haven't had an damaged by this yet - even though it would seem to be continuously reading from the same area of the disc. They do get very warm though, whether from the laser or from the mechanical action of spinning I'm not sure. I suspect if they are left too long and allowed to get too hot they may end up damaged in some way (I would expect warping rather than holes though)

The heat comes from spinning, I'm pretty sure. The read laser is visible (usually red, HD-DVD uses a blue laser and Bluray uses a violet laser) light, not infrared, and its very low intensity. There is a little bit of friction involved in the drive, though. I remember when I got my first 56x CD-ROM drive, disks came out HOT.

The write laser in a CD or DVD burner is a lot more powerful, and does produce heat, but it's never on while reading, only breif flashes during the write process, and even then, I don't think it's powerful enough to damage a non-writable disk.

This rumor is pretty much bunk. The laser that reads DVD's is not powerful enough to damage plastic discs. If it was, DVD players themselves could get too easily damaged.

Besides, as people mention, discs do not stop when movies are not played (paused). The players' internal memory remembers the position and halts the playback program while the disc keeps spinning. That and the fact that most newer players will automatically tun off while on extended pause to prevent overheating.

The damage-when-paused story was also spread about video and audio tapes, both again without foundation (although most VCRs will automatically switch off after a few minutes pausing, this is to protect the drive mechanism rather than the tape)

But the difference with tape (as compared to disks) is that tape is not still running when paused. The tape is stopped (still under tension against the read head). When the drive mechanism is Stopped, the capstans are removed from the tape, and the tension and contact from the read head is also removed.

But the difference with tape (as compared to disks) is that tape is not still running when paused. The tape is stopped (still under tension against the read head). When the drive mechanism is Stopped, the capstans are removed from the tape, and the tension and contact from the read head is also removed.

That was always my understanding of this-you weren't going to get a blank spot on the tape, but it did keep it under tension in one spot, potentially damaging the tape.

Come to think of it, there may be an old portable tape player in the house with a tape stuck in it....

I was told by a eletronic nerd friend that if you leave the TV on pause, regardless of source of program, that it can "burn" the image into the screen, so to not do it to answer the door or phone or something where you might be gone a while. Same reason we use a screensaver on the computers. Is that bunk as well?

But the difference with tape (as compared to disks) is that tape is not still running when paused. The tape is stopped (still under tension against the read head). When the drive mechanism is Stopped, the capstans are removed from the tape, and the tension and contact from the read head is also removed.

Actually, the head is still spinning (assuming it's VHS or other helical scan systems), or you wouldn't get an image on pause. There is no frame buffer in a VCR player, data is displayed as it is read form the tape.

A DVD player, on the other hand, actually decodes the video and have a frame buffer, so it does not have to constantly read to display a still picture.

Quote:

I was told by a eletronic nerd friend that if you leave the TV on pause, regardless of source of program, that it can "burn" the image into the screen, so to not do it to answer the door or phone or something where you might be gone a while. Same reason we use a screensaver on the computers. Is that bunk as well?

It was somewhat true, but isn't anymore. Even when it was true, you needed to leave the image ridicilously long for burn to occur.

Look at old arcade machines, and you can see a faint burn, and these are machines that has had some parts of the screen identical day in and day out for many years.

Or look at your computer screen. How much of the time do you have a titlebar at the top with a close button in the corner, and how much of the time do you have a start button in the corner? Do you see any burn?

One reservation, though. Plasma screens are prone to burn, so don't leave them paused for long and don't use them for computers or consoles.

burn-in is a real thing. Plasma tvs are also susceptible to it. (LCD TVs less so, they're subject to image persistance, which in most cases is repairable where burn-in isn't.) I've found that it's always best if you're going to leave the TV on Pause for any length of time, turn it off. Pong killed many a tv back it's day due to the fact that you could play for hours, and the centerline would never move, or anything.

My DVD player (an old Pioneer ~7 years old) actually switches to a screensaver after a minute or two of pausing.

burn-in is a real thing. Plasma tvs are also susceptible to it. (LCD TVs less so, they're subject to image persistance, which in most cases is repairable where burn-in isn't.) I've found that it's always best if you're going to leave the TV on Pause for any length of time, turn it off. Pong killed many a tv back it's day due to the fact that you could play for hours, and the centerline would never move, or anything.

My DVD player (an old Pioneer ~7 years old) actually switches to a screensaver after a minute or two of pausing.

We had a store remodel a few years ago and got new security monitors on the floor. I remember climbing onto a desk to turn one of them off, only to discover it was already powered down. The image I was seeing was a burned in image of the front door.....I just thought it was blurry because it was dusty!

I just popped out a CD-R from my secondary computer, which I don't bother with much. Imagine my surprise when I noticed a gigantic hole burned right through the material. Not the plastic mind you, although it heated up so much that it cracked.

I have no idea how it happened, if the disc got stuck in there or what. The conspiratorial side of me thinks there might be a really malicious virus that took control of the drive! But I have no evidence. Just the hole.

Actually, the head is still spinning (assuming it's VHS or other helical scan systems), or you wouldn't get an image on pause. There is no frame buffer in a VCR player, data is displayed as it is read form the tape.

A DVD player, on the other hand, actually decodes the video and have a frame buffer, so it does not have to constantly read to display a still picture.

It was somewhat true, but isn't anymore. Even when it was true, you needed to leave the image ridicilously long for burn to occur.

Look at old arcade machines, and you can see a faint burn, and these are machines that has had some parts of the screen identical day in and day out for many years.

Or look at your computer screen. How much of the time do you have a titlebar at the top with a close button in the corner, and how much of the time do you have a start button in the corner? Do you see any burn?

One reservation, though. Plasma screens are prone to burn, so don't leave them paused for long and don't use them for computers or consoles.

The reason you don't have a "burn" on your computer screen is because the image is constantly regenerating, faster than you can see it.

However, if you left a stationary menu screen from a DVD on your TV, it will burn.

I some people have had this problem with menu screens on satellite dishes. It happened to one person very fast. He got his TV replaced for free, I believe, but I told him not to leave his menu stationary for long.

This is also why, I think, every DVD player has a screen saver. It's not just a cute name, it saves your screen by having a moving image.

However, if you left a stationary menu screen from a DVD on your TV, it will burn.

My dad's got a very old big screen (I believe it dates back to the late eighties) that he and I ruined with Tetris. As long as the TV is on these days the three squares that make up a Tetris game (Play area, upcoming piece area, and score area) are faintly visible.

The reason you don't have a "burn" on your computer screen is because the image is constantly regenerating, faster than you can see it.

However, if you left a stationary menu screen from a DVD on your TV, it will burn.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. Yes, the computer redraws the screen several times per second, but so does the DVD/TV, even on pause. It is still redrawn, the only difference is that it's the same image that's drawn over and over again, much like the Start button in Windows or the little X that's usually in the top right corner. It is not somehow sent to the TV, which then magically holds it, it's is constantly redrawn.

It was somewhat true, but isn't anymore. Even when it was true, you needed to leave the image ridicilously long for burn to occur.

One reservation, though. Plasma screens are prone to burn, so don't leave them paused for long and don't use them for computers or consoles.

Oh, I was going to contradict you before you put in that last little bit. Plasmas can be very sensitive. My wife left a DVD at the menu once, for about 10 minutes, then decided to do something else. When I turned the TV on shortly thereafter, without turning on other sources, I could still see the menu image in the background. It cleared away after watching my program, but I was pretty worried for a little bit.

At work we use 42" plasmas mounted in the plant floor to display 4-7 numbers that chart our progress in production. The headers are a nice bold white text on black background - and are very well burned into the screens. Some day I'll try the anti-burn-in function on these TVs and see if it's really permanent or just highly residual.